Qianlong, incised inscription dated to summer of 1795The massively constructed vessel of broad cylindrical form, supported on five shallow bracket foot, superbly worked on the exterior in varying levels of relief with a continuous mountainscape scene featuring two deer and a pavilion overlooking a lake, the doe portrayed in a recumbent position with its head turned looking backwards, the stag depicted roaming freely at the side with its head turned right, the rocky pass progressing through lush maple trees and textured rock formations framed by banisters, leading towards a raised structure at the cliff edge with a two-tiered pavilion at the epicentre and overlooking a magnificent waterfall, the mouthrim worked in the form of wispy clouds with a series of incised kaishu inscriptions and a seal mark, an additional four-character incised kaishu inscription incised above the roofed shelter, the stone of a rich and attractive dark green colour, wood stand.17cm diam. (2).

The David Wilkie collection was housed in Merdon Manor, a magnificent 16th century English country mansion in Hersley, Hampshire. It was purchased by Captain George Cooper, later Sir George Cooper (?-1940) and his wife Lady Mary Cooper in 1904. During the Second World War, Lord Beaverbrook requisitoned the house for the design staff of Vickers Supermarine, creators of the heroic Spitfire fighter, who had been bombed out of their Southampton base.

The four-character inscription in the landscape reads 雲瀑飛櫺 (Yunpu Feiling), and translates as 'cloudy waterfall and flying eaves'.

'The common artisan abandons his profession to devote himself to antiquarian pursuits;On this brushpot he has carved out a scene of a raging waterfall;Gazing forth from under the eaves and reciting seven-character poems;Must be Li Bai's poem eulogising the Incense Burner Peak.Imperial inscription by the Qianlong Emperor in the summer of yimao year (1795).Bide'.

The inscription concludes with the bide seal. These two characters are extracted from the Liji ('The Book of Rites, by Confucius), from the proverbial statement: Junzi bide yuyu, which literally translates as 'The gentleman (lit.'the lord's son) is more virtuous than jade'. This seal is reserved for Qianlong Imperial jades of the highest quality. It is also incised on the brushwasher in this catalogue (lot 206), and on a white jade circular taishang huangdi seal, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 April 2010 lot 1815.

Xianglu Feng or 'Incense Burner Peak' mentioned in the inscription is the highest peak on the northern part of Mount Lu in Jiangxi province, where its name derives from ritual archaic bronzes. The peak has two large standing stones resembling incense burners at the summit and the mist hanging over it looks like rising smoke. Mount Lu is known for its grandeur and unrivalled beauty. At the heart of the peak waterfall there is a spectacular waterfall, as depicted with raging water flow in the current lot, where the Tang dynasty poet Bai Juyi (772-846) claimed that the scenery of the waterfall surpassed even Mount Lu itself:

'Having Climbed to the Peak of Incense Burner MountainUp and up, the Incense Burner Peak!In my heart is stored what my eyes and ears perceived.All the year, I'm detained by official business;Today at last I got a chance to go.Grasping the creepers, I clung to dangerous rocks;My hands and feet are weary wit groping for holds.There came with me three of four friends;But two friends dared not go futher.At last we reached the topmost crest of the Peak;My eyes were blinded and my soul rocked and reeled.The chasm beneath me, ten thousand feet deep;The ground I stood on, only a foot wide.If you have not exhausted the scope of seeing and hearing,How can you realise the vastness of the world?The waters of the river looked as narrow as a ribbon;P'en Castle smaller than a man's fist.How it clings, the dust of the world's halter!It chokes my limbs: I cannot shake it away.Thinking of retirement, I heaved an envious sigh,Then with lowered head, came back to the Ant's Nest'.

The Tang dynasty poet Li Bai (701-762) also extolled the beauty of the waterfall, and composed the two-stanza poem titled 'Gazing at the Waterfall at Mount Lu'. The poem literally translates as:

'Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu;Sunlight streaming on incense stone kindles violet smoke;Far off I watched the waterfall plunge to the long river;Flying waters descending straight three thousand feet;I think the universe has tumbled from the Ninth Height of Heaven'.

By the year 1795, the Qianlong Emperor was in the very last year of his long and glorious reign. In the final years of his rule, the Qianlong Emperor increasingly entrusted administrative authority to high officials, devoting more attention to art collecting and scholarly pursuits. In writing this poem, the Qianlong Emperor subconsciously revealed his aspirations for an easy and simple retired life of poetry and art, escaping from the cares and burdens of life at court.

An Imperial spinach jade brushpot with the same title, inscription around the moutrim and dating as the current lot from the Qing court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware II, Shanghai 2008, p.237, no.198. (fig.1). The only difference between the inscriptions on the Palace Museum brushpot and the current lot is that the former seal reads huixin buyuan ('the awakening of the heart is not far'), rather than bide.

There are two other Imperial spinach jade brushpots with inscriptions dated to the Qianlong period in the National Palace Museum, Taipei. One of them is worked at the exterior with a scene of 'Collection of Books within Stone Grottos', and dated to the summer of 1794 (jiayin cyclical date). The other spinach jade brushpot illustrates the story of the famous poet Li Bai and his five friends, and is dated to the summer of 1795 (yimao cyclical date), in common with the current lot (fig.2). See The Refined taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, Taipei, 1997, pp.172-175, nos.55 (fig.2) and 56.

Compare also a spinach jade brushpot with a continuous scene of Immortals in mountains, also incised with Qianlong inscription and dated to summer 1795 (yimao cyclical date, corresponding to the sixtieth year of the Qianlong period), in the Michael S.L. Liu collection, illustrated in The Grandeur of Chinese Art Treasures: Min Chiu Society Golden Jubilee Exhibition, Hong Kong, 2010, p.363, no.217.

For another spinach jade brushpot from the Palace Museum, Beijing, see A Lofty Retreat from the Red Dust: The Secret Garden of Emperor Qianlong, Hong Kong, 2012, pp.130-131, no.21. Compare also a brushpot from the Heber R. Bishop (1840-1902) collection (fig.3), housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession number 02.18.685a; and another in the British Museum collection (fig.4), see Jessica Rawsonm Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, Chicago, 1995, pp.408-409, no.29:18.

For a closely related example sold at auction, see a spinach jade brushpot dated to summer 1795 and inscribed with the same inscriptions on the surface and rim, differing in the seal huixin buyuan and subject matter (immortals and their attendants amidst a lakeside landscape). Originally purchased from Edward Farmer by Honcan Bough in New York in 1931, it was preserved by the descendants of George H. Taber collection until it was recently sold at Sotheby's New York, 20 March 2012, lot 208.

This auction is now finished. If you are interested in consigning in future auctions, please contact the specialist department. If you have queries about lots purchased in this auction, please contact customer services.

Buyers' Obligations

ALL BIDDERS MUST AGREE THAT THEY HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD BONHAMS' CONDITIONS OF SALE AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THEM, AND AGREE TO PAY THE BUYER'S PREMIUM AND ANY OTHER CHARGES MENTIONED IN THE NOTICE TO BIDDERS. THIS AFFECTS THE BIDDERS LEGAL RIGHTS.

If you have any complaints or questions about the Conditions of Sale, please contact your nearest customer services team.

Buyers' Premium and Charges

For all Sales categories excluding Wine:

Buyer's Premium Rates25% up to HKD800,000 of the Hammer Price20% from HKD800,001 to HKD15,000,000 of the Hammer Price12% over HKD15,000,000 of the Hammer Price.

Shipping Notices

For information and estimates on domestic and international shipping as well as export licences please contact Bonhams Shipping Department.